I have a Lampson LP3 and I know that some of you also own Lampson reels. My question is can the drag handle large runs by Albies? I have seen reports on other boards which claim that the Lampson is not up to the task. Thanks for you advise in this matter.
FishHawk

juro

10-28-2000, 10:06 AM

I own 5 Lamson reels and use them for meat and potatoes reels. They are great utility reels and the unconditional lifetime warranty was the first in the market for machined bar stock and the price is right. If you own own you know how smooth the drag is. On a related topic I am looking for an heirloom reel, and the Lamson is not that - but to say it's not adequate for a species is a gross generalization in my opinion. I've landed albies, bonito, bass up to 38", blues up to 17 pounds, steelhead up to 22 pounds, chinook up to 35 pounds, coho up to 17 pounds, chum salmon up to 20 pounds, cuda, bonefish, ladyfish, smallmouth bass, and other species without a hitch using Lamson reels from LP3.5 to LP4's and the SPEY model.

To answer your question, The big bass we get in this part of the country put the albies we get around here to shame in terms of fight. If you're headed down to the Carolinas for some 20 pounders, different story. But around here the real test of drag is a huge hot cow in a rip, a slammer blue - not the little speedsters. They tend to test your ability to set-up, cast, and strip excess line more than burn up drags despite their wonderful screaming runs. The big riptide bass make the rod and reel feel like they are going to explode. The blues run so far and hard you long to see the flyline someday. Sure, our tunoids are great fun and run like torpedoes but the Lamson is plenty of reel around here. If anything it's a discussion of reel SIZE more thsan design. Is anything in a "3" adequate?

If you are going down south to chase their bigger cousins regularly, I would consider upgrading to natural cork, larger area delrin / teflon or other low heat drag - or upgrade to the NEW Lamson lightspeed (LS) ultralarge arbor with the super-fast retrieve, conical sealed delrin drag. It can DEFINITELY handle albies and will give you a great retrieve rate as well.

Islander, Pate, Abel, there are many what I call 'heirloom' reels to choose from for drags that are flawless. If it were me, I'd be down there with my ol' Lamson LP4 battling the big tunoids at least the first time around. Benefit of the doubt, as they say. BUt the LP3 might be a touch small.

Caveats:

a) like many drags, when the drag mechanism gets thoroughly soaked it's grab is reduced slightly 10-20% - but not enough to backlash. The LP drag dries out quickly, or you can advance the drag a click while you wait.

b) smaller reels have a faster rotation speed when under load, making the drag work harder and the cranking harder. Large arbor makes the drag smoother and the cranking easier. It's not as easy to level line on the spool if the spool is too wide, so diameter is as important as width. The LP3 is a large trout / small steelhead / schoolie reel for the most part, but an LP4 or LP5 would be plenty of reel for tunoids.

Where are when are you going after albies?

FishHawk

10-28-2000, 05:50 PM

Thanks Juro for your input. I will probably go to NC in the year 01 or 02. I have two kids in college so an Able is out of the question. Maybe a Tigoa or Lampson Lp3.5 will fit the bill. I don't know the age of your kids but save your money and take all the trips you can now. I could have a nice 20ft Pathfinder and several Ables for price of the college tution however, such is life. Thanks again for your help hope to fish with you and the gang next year.
FishHawk

sRobbins

10-31-2000, 09:55 AM

Juro, if you're still looking for an Abel, I saw the following on the Virtual Flyshop site:

FishHawk - In case you are looking to upgrade from the LP3, I just wanted to relate a bit of my own experience this year buying reels. I took a chance in August and tried Cabelas large arbor saltwater reel. http://information.cabelas.com/images/imgcache/IA486Y-IA486Y.jpg
$125 gets you bar stock aluminum with a very thick anodized finished, a maintenance free delrin disc drag that is ultra smooth, medium capacity spool capable of 180 yrds. of 30lb. backing, and one of the best reel handles I've ever seen in the under $200 class.

I landed a 7lb. Albie on it and feel I could land much larger fish.

I also bought a used Tioga #8 from Dave Peros for about $100. While at the time I would have rather gone with a #10, I landed a 40" bass on the 8 and it was more than adequate.

Someday, I'll go for the high end reel, but as you say, smart children force us to be mindful of what we spend. ;)

Al

grego

10-31-2000, 10:32 AM

I agree with AL. If your not going Tarpon fishing (& if you are the guides usually supply equipment), then there are a lot of moderately priced reels (~$200) that will do the job for Bass, Blues & Albies, reliably. That being said, why buy a Cadillac when a Chevey will get you to work at the same time, because you want it!

striblue

10-31-2000, 11:11 AM

Al, I have a number of Abel reels, two of which are a 3N Ported and 3 regular.. I use the ported on a an 8 wt and the 3 on a seven wt.. Caught two 35 inch plus stripers on the 3N with a rio deep sinking line with 150 yards of 30 pound backing ,I think..It could be 200 yards.. Plenty of reel for NE conditions and big stripers. By the way, I have been told that Abel is changing the Porting on their ported reels and that's why you are seeing so many on sale... If your thinking of an Abel ,nows the time to pick one up at those sale prices.. The new porting will probably have no effect on the performance and will be mostly for looks... A rumor is that the new porting will be similar to the Super series... But I don't know yet, the Abel web site has not disclosed it yet under new products but it is suppose to come out in 2001.